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For Never Was a Story of More Woe than this of Juliet and Her Romeo

Being up early today, I ended up catching a broadcast of Romeo + Juliet. Well. More like “got sucked into by accident”.

Every time I read or watch a version of this play, I find myself devastatingly depressed – and not because the story itself is so tragic. Rather, standing face to face with the sheer genius of the story’s construction and execution from beginning to end humbles me and my meager talent with words to a degree that causes my bones to ache.

I can only imagine what watching the play would be like if one were not already intimately familiar with the plot. Here we have a lighthearted comedy – an uplifting love story – through two and a half acts.

Until the murder of Mercutio by the Prince of Cats. This is a brutal, jarring event – one that is completely unexpected and yet completely telegraphed from scene one via Tybalt’s irrational rage. And here is where the wheels come off and we find ourselves Bat Country. A chain of events set in motion that can only culminate in, well. You know. The deaths of our titular characters.

Comments (3)

I really love this version. It’s super-flawed (the acting of the titular actors, while not awful, is nowhere near as good as the ‘secondary’ characters — but then they aren’t really secondary in R&J) but still somehow one of the best adaptations ever. The church scene still gives me the shivers.

I had the full Queen Mab speech memorized when I was 13, and performed it to a full house the Folger in DC. I’m not sure I’ve done anything in the last 20 years to equal that.

(My sister, the brat, outdid me — she had a smaller part 3 years later, but did it in front of the Queen …)

I know exactly what you mean about R+J. Every time I watch it I find myself wanting it to turn out differently, so tragic. Also, we had talked about dinner tomorrow night. I have a huge deadline Wednesday and it’s not even close to finished so perhaps the following Tuesday?